btccfandomcom-20200213-history
Bill Blydenstein
|debut = Crystal Palace 1959 |entries = 22 |champs = 0 (3rd 1961) |wins = 3|death = 12/9/2007 |teams = Cooper Car Co. Lawrencetune Engines}} Bill Blydenstein was a former British Touring Car Championship driver and class champion, having won the Class B championship in 1961. Blydenstein competed in the BSCC for years, and was a respected figure in the paddock, later known for helping the Vauxhall challenge get off the ground in the late 1960s.http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums/vauxhall-mig-news/331793-bill-blydenstein-passes-away.html Background Little is known of Blydenstein's pre-BSCC career, only that he entered his first race in 1958. Blydenstein was known to have an interest in engineering, a fact which would see him develop the first Vauxhalls to race successfully in British motorsport at a national (and later international) level. BTCC History Blydenstein entered his first BSCC race in 1959, joining the field at Crystal Palace.http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1959%20Crystal%20Palace.html Using a privately owned Borgward Isabella TS, Blydenstein was able to take second in his class. He followed this with two further second places, before rounding off the season with a class victory at Brands Hatch. 1960 saw Blydenstein enter the BSCC twice in his Isabella, taking a further pair of second places. 1961 proved to be Blydenstein's best year in the BSCC, finishing joint third in the championship and joint class winner in Class B.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1961%20BSCC.html Two wins and four other podiums saw Blydenstein draw with Alan Hutcheson in his Riley, and it was decided that the pair (as they were not in the running for the title) would share the Class B title. Unfortunately for Blydenstein, 1962, which saw him run a brand new Austin Mini Cooper provided by the Cooper Car Co., was a dreadful year.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1962%20BSCC.html Three retirements, combined with the fact that Blydenstein missed three of the first six races, meant that he played little more than a supporting role in John Love's triumph, taking two second places in the final two rounds. Blydenstein's final bow came in 1963, which saw him begin his association with Vauxhalls. Using a Lawrencetune Engines built Vauxhall VX 4/90, Blydenstein appeared at three rouns in 1963, scoring the car's first points at Brands Hatch.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1963%20BSCC.html After this, Blydenstein would work with Vauxhall to build competitive racing cars rather than driving. BTCC Record A table containing 's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate 's best finish at that meeting in their class. |R1 = Dash |R2 = Dash |R3 = Dash |R4 = P2 |R5 = P2 |R6 = P2 |R7 = P1}} |R1 = Dash |R2 = P2 |R3 = Dash |R4 = Dash |R5 = Dash |R6 = Dash |R7 = Dash |R8 = P2}} |R1 = P2 |R2 = P1 |R3 = P2 |R4 = Dash |R5 = P1 |R6 = PRet |R7 = P3 |R8 = P5N |R9 = P3}} |R1 = Dash |R2 = PRet |R3 = Dash |R4 = PRet |R5 = Dash |R6 = PRet |R7 = P2 |R8 = P2}} |R1 = Dash |R2 = Dash |R3 = P6N |R4 = Dash |R5 = Dash |R6 = Dash |R7 = Dash |R8 = P4 |R9 = Dash |R10 = Dash |R11 = P5N}} |} References Category:Drivers